Ahead of July Fourth, East Coast eyes tropical storm

Koby Cooper (left) and Colby Atkins of Charleston, W.Va., play near the old damaged Hatteras Pier in Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Koby Cooper (left) and Colby Atkins of Charleston, W.Va., play near the old damaged Hatteras Pier in Cape Hatteras, N.C.

Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images

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CAPE HATTERAS, NC - JULY 02: Vehicles drive off the ferry from Ocracoke Island which officials have called for a voluntary evacuation due to approaching storm, July 2, 2014 in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Tropical Storm Arthur has begun moving steadily northward at around 5 kt. and is expected to make landfall over the Fourth of July holiday. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) less

CAPE HATTERAS, NC - JULY 02: Vehicles drive off the ferry from Ocracoke Island which officials have called for a voluntary evacuation due to approaching storm, July 2, 2014 in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. ... more

Photo: Mark Wilson, Getty Images

Ahead of July Fourth, East Coast eyes tropical storm

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CHARLESTON, S.C. — As one of the year's busiest travel weekends approaches, so does another visitor: Tropical Storm Arthur, expected to grow into a hurricane by the Fourth of July.

It's expected to hit hardest in North Carolina's Outer Banks, a popular getaway spot of thin barrier islands along the shore.

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The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season prompted a hurricane warning for a wide swath of the North Carolina coast and had officials, hotel owners and would-be vacationers as far north as New England watching forecasts.

The storm was enough of a concern that Boston officials decided to move the annual Boston Pops July Fourth concert and fireworks show up by a day because of potential heavy rain Friday night.

The Outer Banks will be especially vulnerable, forecasters said. The area's tourism agency expects about 250,000 people to travel there and stay in hotels and rental homes for the long holiday weekend.

Home to the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the island is a narrow spit of land, and the two-lane North Carolina 12 is the only way to the mainland other than ferries to the south.

Twice in recent years, storm-driven waves have sliced the highway, rendering it impassable.

A voluntary evacuation was announced earlier for the Outer Banks' Ocracoke Island, which is accessible only by ferry.

Other areas of the Outer Banks were taking a cautious, but still-optimistic approach: No evacuations had been ordered for areas north of Hatteras, including the popular town of Kill Devil Hills, which was the site of the Wright brothers' first controlled, powered airplane flights in December 1903.

Tourism officials expect about 250,000 people to visit the Outer Banks and stay in hotels and rental homes for the long holiday weekend.

“We want everybody to be safe and prepared, but we are not overly concerned at this point,” said Lee Nettles, the executive director the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

With concerns of rip tides, he urged surfers and swimmers not to get in the water regardless of how good the waves might be.

“Our major goal is to ensure that no lives are lost during this upcoming storm,” including those of emergency workers, McCrory said.

He declared a state of emergency for 25 coastal and adjoining counties.

The National Hurricane Center predicted Arthur would grow to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of at least 74 mph by Thursday.

The forecast didn't call for a landfall in the U.S., but officials and travelers north to New England kept an eye on the storm's projected path. Many areas warned of upcoming rain, wind and potential rip tides.

The worst of the storm should hit Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about dawn Friday, with 3 to 5 inches of rain and sustained winds up to 85 mph, said Tony Saavedra, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service.

The Hurricane Center predicted the storm would be off the coast of New England later in the day and eventually make landfall in Canada's maritime provinces as a tropical storm.